Tile mounting



E. S. DENK TILE MOUNTING Aug. 4, 1936.

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 6, 1950 U Uri. Hindu-Hana E. s. DENK v TILEMOUNTING Aug. 4, 1936.

2 Sheets-Sheet v2 Filed Jan. 6, 1930 fiuemlzf iii/ii dizz /Z WM My d 5FM? Patented Aug. 4, 1936 PATENT OFFICE TILE MOUNTING Emil S. Denk,Villa Park, Ill., minor to Porcelain Tile Corporation, a corporation ofDelae ware Application January 6, 1930, Serial No. 418,706

1 Claim.

The inventionrelates to tile mountings and has particular reference tothe mounting of tile elements such as are stamped from a blank sheet ofmetal upon an appropriate support, as for example, insulation board orbeaver board.

Heretoi'ore the greatest objection encountered in the tiling ofsurfaces, such as floors, walls,

etc., has been the excessive cost of labor necessary for laying thetiles in proportion to the cost of the material used. The actualembedding of the tiles in a freshly poured cement surface, the aligningof the tiles with each other and the spacing of them so that the tiledsurface as a whole presents a neat appearance, is

. area which will necessarily reduce the labor cost in tiling the sameto a minimum.

Another object of the invention is to provide supporting surfaces havingmeans for mounting tile elements thereon, which will automatically spacethe elements with relation to each, other and the edges of thesupporting surface, which surfaces can be suitably secured one abuttingthe other, to a wall or floor, thus producing a neatly tiled area.

Yet another object is to provide supporting surfaces having means formounting tile elements thereon, preferably of the type stamped from ablank sheet of metal, which surfaces will be suitable for tiling anygiven area without the use of skilled labor, and which will be of lowcost in construction and adapted to meet the commercial needs of thetrade.

With these and various other objects in view, the invention may consistof certain novel features of construction and operation, as will be morefully described and particularly pointed out in the specification,drawings and claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the device andwherein like reference characters are used to designate like parts-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of insulation board havingtiles mounted thereon.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2, of Figure 1, showingmeans for mounting the tiles to the board.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a tile element such as are stampedfrom a blank sheet of metal.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a square section of board with thetiles mounted thereon.

Figure 5 is a bottom view showing the attaching means for the tiles insecured position.

Figure 6 is a plan view showing the manner of 5 laying the sections ofboard having the tiles mounted thereon.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a section of expanded metal, showingtile, elements mounted thereon.

Figure 8 is a bottom view, showing the manner of attaching the tileelements to the metal surface.

Figure 9 is a perspective view, showing the manner of securing theexpanded metal sections to a supporting wall.

Figure 10 is a perspective view, showing the manner of securing thesections of insulation board to a supporting wall.

The supporting surfaces for the various tile elements are preferably oiinsulation board, which finds extensive application in various buildingconstructions and which consists principally of asbestos, wood or canefiber united together with suitable adhesives. The board may be of anyappropriate size, but preferably of a square section of a size largeenoughto allow aplurality of tile elements to be mounted thereon. Theinvention, it is to be understood, is not necessarily limited to the useof any special size of tile, since for some work a fairly large sizetile may be needed, which would require a fairlu large section of boardfor the purposes of the present invention, while for another characterof tiling work, a smaller size of tile and correspondingly smallersection of board could be used. This latter size is preferable when thesections are to be cemented to their supporting surfaces or foundationsheet.

" Referring to Figure 1, the section of insulation board i0 shown isprovided with openings l2, located in spaced relation which isdetermined by the size of the tile to be secured thereto. The openingsare in turn provided with a counter-sunk portion it on the rear side ofthe board, the purpose of which will be presently described. This sideof the board as shown in Figure 4 is also provided with a longitudinallyextending slot i8, dovetail in shape, which serves hardened holds it inset position. The plaster or cement in its wet condition also works intothe dove-tail recess l8 and forms an interlock after it has hardened, tohelp maintain the board in place.

The tile elements i8 as shown in Figure 3 are formed preferably by beingstamped from a. sheet of metal and comprise a flat face, having sideportions or marginal flanges 20 provided with tangs 22. In securing thetiles to the supporting boards 10, the tangs are inserted in openings i2which have been properly spaced so as to receive them, the tangs beingthen bent inward as shown in Figure 5, thus securely locking the tilesin place. For certain character of tiling work a small section ofinsulation board, having four tiles secured in spaced relation as shownin Figure 4, is very desirable. The invention, however, equally lendsitself to the use of a larger tile and correspondingly larger sectionsof board, such as is illustrated in Figure 1.

When the panels are laid by being applied to a cement or plastersurface, it is only necessary to see that each panel is inabuttingrelation with the other panel or panels. The proper spacing arrangementof the tiles upon the board is accomplished by proper location of theopenings l2 and this spacing is carried out when the panels are locatedadjacent each other, by making the distance from the edges of the boardto the tile elements Just one-half the full tile spacing. As shown inFigure 6, the various panels, are embedded in mortar or plaster 24 sothat all panels are in close abutting relation. In finishing off thetiling work some of the plaster or mortar is spread between the tiles toconceal the openings in, and the abutting edges of, the

4 panels. This is generally known as pointing up,

the result of which is to give to the various panels the appearance ofindividually laid tiles.

The larger panels as shown in Figure 1 are preferably used in tiling awall and for this reason the dove-tail slot is omitted. The usualstructure in buildings and upon which the panels are to be securedcomprises a series of upright members 26, generally known as studding,which members are properly spaced from each other and have nailed orotherwise secured to them furring strips 28, which are disposed inhorizontal relation and at right angles to the uprights. In tiling suchan area as presented by the furring strips, the tiled panels are securedto the strips by small headed nails, which are pneferably located at theintersections of the grooves which separate the various tile elements.The panels are then pointed up with mortar or the like to conceal thenails and the surface appearance of the board.

In order to form an interlock for the mortar in the grooves, the edgesof the tile elements between the tangs 22 are formed with notches 30 soas to present a saw-tooth edge, which, when the elements are secured tothe board, presents a plurality of small openings between the surface ofthe board and the edges of the tile elements. When the mortar is spreadbetween the grooves, portions of the same will work its way into theopenings presented and thus when hardened form an interlock firmlysecuring the mortar in place.

Referring more particularly to Figures '7 and 8, an alternative form oftiled panel is disclosed, comprising a supporting medium or foundationsheet of expanded metal lath 32, which presents a plurality of openingsas shown. The tile elements 18 are properly spaced over the surfacepresented by a section of metal lath and secured in place by bending ofthe tangs 22 so as to interlock with the mesh of the metal. In thismanner the tile elements are held in place upon the surface and alsoproperly spaced with relation to each other and the edges of the metallath.

Heretofore the enameling of the tiles has been accomplished bysubjecting each tile individually to a dipping and firing process, whichconsists in first cleaning the surface of the tile and then dipping thesame to coat the surface with what is known as a ground coat of enamel.This ground coat is then fired by subjecting the tile to a hightemperature, which serves to fuse the enamel with the metal surface ofthe tile. On top of this ground coat is spread the enamel colors ofvarious blends, which are then fired so as to secure the same to theground coat, thus resulting in an enamel tile of various contrastingblends.

The tiled metal surfaces as disclosed in Figure 7 give rise to animproved method for enameling the tiles, which materially reduces thelabor and time required heretofore in handling each tile individually.The foundation sheets of expanded metal are adapted to have the tileelements secured thereto before the elements have been enameled. Whenenameling is accomplished first, the bending of the tangs 22 in securingthe tiles to the foundation sheet results to a certain extent in theenamel coat chipping off. With the tile elements in place upon themetal, the panel as a whole is dipped to clean the surfaces of eachtile, the sections being then dipped for applying the ground coat toeach tile and then fired as a unit. The ground coat is then fused to thetiles, as well as to the portions of the metal surface, which serves toprotect the same from rust. The various other steps in the enamelingprocess can likewise be carried out upon the section of tiled metal as aunit, thus materially reducing the labor and time incident to handlingeach tile individually. It is seen that this method results in producinga tiled panel having tiles properly spaced and which panel is ready forimmediate use in tiling a wall, or which can be stored in convenientform until such time as it can be used.

In securing the sections of expanded metal to a supporting wall, thesame system is carried out as was explained in connection with theinsulation boards I ii. The sections are secured by nailing them to thewooden strips 28, the nails being preferably located in theintersections of the grooves. Pointing up of the complete tiled surfaceis accomplished as previously explained so that a wall or other areapresents an appearance similar to one tiled with individually laidtiles.

Comparing the invention herein disclosed with the system of tiling shownin the Haines Patents Nos. 1,594,614 and 1,704,537, it may be pointedout that the method disclosed by Haines is particularly advantageous intiling relatively small surfaces of irregular form or which areinterrupted by openings or projections, whereas the method herein shownfinds its greatest usefulness in the tiling of comparatively largecontinuous surfaces, such as are often found in corridors, subway andtunnel walls, and similar situations, and in the tiling of a largenumber of surfaces of like size 7 t and shape, The method described inthe Haines patents is the application of a foundation sheet I or aplurality of foundation sheets to the surface to be tiled and thesubsequent application to the foundation sheets of porcelain-enameledsheetmetal tiles. While the Haines method is a great advance over theage-old system consisting in setting ceramic tiles on a plaster ormortar surface, the present method registers another advance in that itmakes possible the assembly of the foundation sheets and the tiles in afactory under mass production methods and thus reduces to a minimum theamount of handwork required to be done in the building, subway or otherplace to be tiled. a

/ It will be seen that I have disclosed a preformed tiled panelconstituting an article of manufacture as distinguished from a tiledsurface constructed in situ.

I claim:

An article of manufacture consisting of a preformed tiled panelcomprising a foundation sheet having openings therein, and amultiplicity of porcelain-enameled sheet-metal tiles each havingmarginal flanges and tangs on the flanges extending through saidopenings and clenched to secure the tiles to said sheet with saidflanges bearing against the sheet, the tiles being spaced apart toprovide grooves to receive pointing material.

mm s. DENK.

